[LP] The Way of the Tiger. (Complete)

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[LP] The Way of the Tiger. (Complete)

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

So, it's 1985 and ninjas are a very big deal. Also, the gamebook is as big a deal as it's ever been. So it's not really surprising that they crossed over. But The Way of the Tiger isn't just two very 80s things that taste great together; it's actually one of my favorite gamebook experiences. I'm not even going to sing its praises in detail, I'm sure you'll see why.

So, Book 1 (of 6 5, and only 5)

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The cover lets you know immediately that this involves ninja, because the title and series title don't.

To give you some idea of how 80s/Ninja this thing is, allow me to show you the first page.

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Yes, that happened. That is so iconic of the period/subject combo that it should be in a textbook somewhere. And yet, it is matched by this two-page spread a little later on.

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Your 10-year old mind is now blown. Especially by the hilariawesome Teeth of Tiger Throw. That was my signature move when I first played these books, because it has the word tiger in it, and is amazing.

Other things that greet your eyes as you go in are this happy fellow:

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Also this character sheet:

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Hell. Fucking. Yes. A shuriken track shaped like little stars? A list of cool ninja tools? Three different combat ratings? Inner Force that is chi maybe? I, the player, am being promised a lot of things here, and the tone is very much set by every element, not just the text.

The introduction is very long, by the way, so I'm just going to post the whole thing as scans.
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Read that last part again. We carry a dose of poison taken from 'a scorpion son' of a god. That is crazy.

Okay, so the first thing we have to do is pick three of the following eight ninja skills. It's not an easy choice. Details of these skills are under the spoiler if you skipped it.

• Arrow Cutting
• Acrobatics
• Immunity to Poisons
• Feigning Death
• Escapology
• Poison Needles
• Picking Locks, Detecting and Disarming Traps
• Climbing
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Mon Jun 27, 2016 6:08 pm, edited 12 times in total.
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Post by Ancient History »

I think we need a poll to pick skills.
[/edit]
In order of Preference:

1. Picking Locks, Detecting and Disarming Traps"
2. Climbing
3. Arrow Cutting

1 and 2 are basic rogue/ninja skillz; #3 seems to be a good counter for ranged attacks. We don't have much poison so I'm not sure how much use Poison Needles are, and Feign Death (while cool) also isn't a very "active" skill.
Last edited by Ancient History on Wed Jul 17, 2013 4:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

I don't want to restrict people to picking just one. Do a list of them in order of preference, and I'll composite them when we have at least 3 lists.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Do we need Immunity to Poisons to use Poison Needles? It kind of seems like we'd die if we tried to spit poison darts without immunity to iocane powder. And while spitting poison will allow us to be Reptile, I don't think it'll be worth using up two power slots on, even if that would also allow us to be the Dread Pirate Westley. Since we already have demon scorpion poison and shuriken I also don't think it's needed, awesome as poison needles are.

I think we should definitely take Picking Locks, Detecting and Disarming Traps; both the 80s gamebook reader and the D&D player in me tell me that will save our ass more than once.

I imagine that either Acrobatics, Climbing, or both will be needed to get past Ninja Gaiden platforming sequences.

Feigning Death or Escapology seem very likely to be perfect for exactly one "surrender and get captured or die" scenario that I suspect will happen at some point in the book.

Incoming arrows tend to be a really big fucking deal in gamebooks, so Arrow Cutting may also very well save our ass. And it seems much less situational than Feigning Death or Escapology, so I guess that I have to vote for it over one of those.

So my vote is:
1. Picking Locks, Detecting and Disarming Traps
2. One of Acrobatics or Climbing (I'm sure one of the two will be useful)
3. Arrow Cutting OR Poison Needles (both seem fairly useful and really cool)

EDIT: changed vote.
Last edited by Darth Rabbitt on Wed Jul 17, 2013 4:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

You do not need Immunity to Poisons to use Poison Needles. Spiderfish venom is a blood agent, and is harmless if swallowed.
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Post by MisterDee »

Poison Needles, Immunity to Poison, and Picking Locks.
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Post by Username17 »

All the ones that let you get from point A to point B.

Pick Locks, Acrobatics, Climb.

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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

My unscientific composite calculates that the best compromise of preferences is:

Pick Lock
Climb
Poison Needles

It begins...


The dawn rays of the sun greet you as you begin your preparations for the time of the trial. Today you will become the youngest ever to challenge for the title Grandmaster of the Five Winds. When your foster father, Naijishi, was murdered by Yaemon, the second Grandmaster stepped into his place. Now, many seasons later another of the grandmasters has died and the position is open once more for there must always be five who lead the order. You have been invited to the challenge for it because of your consummate mastery of the Way of the Tiger.

At the appointed hour you walk, alone, across the sands to the Temple of the Rock. It is a huge pillared hall built into the side of an enormous boulder of red granite brought to rest on the Island of Tranquil Dreams by the ice floes of the age of snow, which carved out the Great Valley Reaches of the far north. As you approach the Temple, you see that the monks and a large number of villagers have assembled to watch the combat between you and the other challenger, Gorobei.
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(It's a good thing we took Climb, because I think we'll need it to punch this guy.)
Like you, Gorobei is an Initiate of the Inner Circle, a devout worshipper of Kwon and a capable fighter. He is older, heavier and stronger than you and has been unsuccessful in one previous challenge, but he is a skillful wrestler. You walk into the Temple and bow to the Grandmaster of the Dawn, a man who looks younger than his fifty years, slim and taut with piercing dark eyes. Beside you, Gorobei also bows, his face a mask showing no emotion. He is clad only in a loin cloth and his rippling muscles gleam with oil that will make it difficult to keep a grip on him. You must defeat him in unarmed combat in order to be allowed to undertake the spiritual test which will show whether you are ready to become a Grandmaster. Gorobei turns to you and bows and you return the courtesy. The Grandmaster of the Dawn reminds you that this is not a fight to the death and you may not use Inner Force. He signals for you to begin. Gorobei advances warily across the polished granite floor, his big hands ready to grapple you.

• Feint a punch and then use the Leaping Tiger Kick?
• Pretend to grapple but instead use the Cobra Strike jab?
Raise your foot as if to kick but side-step and use the Whirlpool throw?
• (option unavailable due to lack of Acrobatics)
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Post by Username17 »

The guy is big, so we probably need a high attack. Let's use the leaping kick. The throw almost certainly won't work, because he is greasy. I doubt the jab will be terribly effective because he is big and tough.

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Post by Dean »

A kick is more amazing than a punch. Leaping Tiger Kick!
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Kick him in the face.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

You step forward as if to punch, then, leaping in the air you lash the ball of your foot towards Gorobei's head with a speed that defies belief. Gorobei, although not quick, knows your style of combat.

GOROBEI
Defense against kick: 6
Endurance: 14
Damage: 1 die
If Gorobei is still conscious he attacks you. Your defense against Gorobei's Cobra Strike is 7.

(We get Gorobei a glancing blow for 3 Endurance.)
(Gorobei's return strike misses.)

• Feint and punch?
• Feint and throw?
• Keep kicking?

(The combat system is not ideal for forum play, because there are a lot of decision points. Changing techniques, blocking, and miscellaneous for special fights. However, in general, the pattern of a fight is: experiment a little, find the best technique – or best combo if throws are involved – then repeat that. The kick is a relatively sweet set-up, so I'm just going to stick with it.)

(Gorobei lands a couple of blows bringing us down to 16 Endurance, but repeated kicking wins the day.)


Your last blow sent Gorobei tumbling senseless to the granite floor. A ripple of applause greets your victory and the Grandmaster of the Dawn compliments you on your fighting prowess and beckons you into the robing chamber. You step beyond the Temple Hall through silken drapes into a small dark room, completely bare of furnishing save for two enormous copper chests. Incense is burning in a censer which swings from the ceiling like a pendulum. The room is lit by white candles.

You kneel on the rush matting facing the three Grandmasters who stare ahead, unseeing, waiting for you to break the silence which you are determined to keep. After an hour-candle has sputtered its last, during which time none of you has moved so much as a muscle, the Grandmaster of the Dawn looks into your eyes and says 'Kwon knows that you desire in your heart to serve him, but I must ask two you questions. Do you truly desire to serve Kwon above all other things, or do you desire to avenge the death of your foster-father Naijishi, more even that to serve your God? What should a Ninja fear most – the failure of a mission or capture by an enemy who will use torture to gain secrets?'

You know that in your heart of hearts you would rather avenge Naijishi than anything else in Orb but a Grandmaster should dedicate his life to Kwon. As for the second question, you can only let your good sense guide you.

• 'I desire to serve Kwon above all else, and I fear only failure of a mission.'
• 'I desire to serve Kwon above all else, and I fear torture above all.'
• 'I desire to avenge the father who loved me, and I fear only failure of a mission.'
• 'I desire to avenge the father who loved me, and I fear torture above all.'
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Post by Ancient History »

Well, 2 and 4 are automatic fails, so that leaves us with 50/50 between Tiger-God Kwon and Dear Departed Dad. It's a tough choice - the most right answer would be #1, but if this is an honesty test, we should go with #3.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I get the feeling that this is an honesty test, so we should go with #3.
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Post by MisterDee »

Yeah, go with 3.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

The Grandmaster of the Dawn smiles and says, 'You pass the test for you have answered both truthfully and rightly. It is not wrong that you should wish to avenge Naijishi who loved you and taught you to love our Lord Kwon, but you must wait patiently for your time to come and never forget that the service of Kwon is the helping of all mankind. It is only through failing a mission that a true Ninja would be captured and there is always time to bite off one's tongue from one's head and bleed to death rather than risk betraying secrets under torture.'

He continues, 'We have never seen one who shows such promise nor one who has mastered so ably the Way of the Tiger. I am going to recite to you the secret litany of the Ninja Grandmaster – remember it, for one day it may be of use to you.

I AM NINJA
My parents are the Heaven and the Earth
My Home is my Body
My Power is Loyalty
My Magic is Training
My Life and my Death is Breathing
My Body is Control
My Eyes are the Sun and the Moon
My Ears are Sensitivity
My Laws are Self-Protection
My Strength is Adaptability
My Ambition is taking every Opportunity with Fullness.
My Friend is my Mind
My Enemy is Carelessness
My Protection is Right Action
My Weapons are Everything that Exists
My Strategy is One Foot in front of the Other
My Trust is in Kwon
MY WAY IS THE WAY OF THE TIGER'

His words are etched into your memory.

Next, he pulls an Opal Ring from his finger and passes it to you. 'This may be of use to you,' he says and you slip it onto your own finger. When the echoing words of the Grandmaster have died away they lead you back to the Temple Hall where the monks and villagers have waited to see whether you would pass the test. Prayers to Kwon are offered up as art of the ceremony at which you are ordained as a Grandmaster of the Five Winds. Gorobei applauds with the others. For now he remains an Adept of the Inner Circle but his time will come, for he is a great warrior and a good monk. Should you die, he will probably take your place.


After the ceremony you all file out of the temple onto the golden sands and there is a frugal feast of rice and fruits shared by the villagers and the monks. You eat sparingly and take your leave early, wishing to meditate before you sleep. Relaxed from the meditation which frees your spirit from the shackles of your aching body, your eyes close as soon as you lay yourself down on the straw-filled sacking that is your bed. You drift into a deep but troubled sleep.

You see a sleek-oared ship setting sail from the Land of Plenty. A tall resolute looking man is on the high stern castle, his legs braced against the swell. He wears a thick cloak of dark green against the weather and the sun flashes so vividly on the buckle of his sword belt that you believe this is not a dream but a vision. A sailor calls him by name, 'Glaivas,' and he turns to look at you, but then the vision fades and the brilliant blue sky is replaced by sombre purple clouds against which a large and dark castle looms. Three turrets on a black Keep seem to pierce the clouds. You are walking towards it, bent on completing a difficult and important mission.

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When you awake you remember the dreams as if they were pictures painted on the wall of your monastic cell, but your sleep has at least restored any Endurance that you lost in your contest with Gorobei. You are walking towards the Temple when there is a commotion on the beach and two fishermen run up to you with the news that a ship is riding at anchor offshore. A man rows himself to the beach and steps out, as the Grandmasters walk to the strand to greet him. He introduces himself as Glaivas and, bowing respectfully, he asks to talk to the Grandmaster of Grandmasters.

'You may address us all,' says the Grandmaster of the Dawn, ' for we have no secrets on the Island of Tranquil Dreams.'

'Not since you lost the Scrolls of Kettsuin,' Glaivas returns darkly.

'What do you know of the Scrolls of Kettsuin?' asks the Grandmaster. The monks wait tensely as Glaivas looks around carefully before replying.

'The Scrolls of Kettsuin hold the secret to the Word of Power which will bind Kwon himself in Inferno if it is spoken at the Pillars of Change in the great snow-wastes of the north. Yaemon, Grandmaster of Flame, of the order of the Scarlet Mantis stole it from you many years ago and he has deciphered the Word. It is the month of All-Mother Splendour and for three days the moon will turn red during the Great Conjunction of the Planets – something that occurs only once every five hundred years. If the Word is spoken at the Pillars of Change at this time, your God Kwon will be imprisoned in the bottomless pit of fire, leaving the monks who worship Vile free to spread their dominion over the lands of men.'

At the mention of Yaemon's name there is uproar, but as Glaivas continues an unnatural quiet descends. 'Yaemon is preparing to set out even now from the city of Doomover on the long journey to the Ice Wastes. Though a Ranger long used to patrolling the wilderness on the edge of the Rift, I am no match for such as he. Is there one among you who will try to stop him?'

As Glaivas spoke you felt the burning need to be revenged on Yarmon flare within your breast. Your dream of Glaivas, for it was he you saw astride the deck of the ship which now rides at anchor near the sands, has convinced you that you are destined for this quest, and you step forward saying, 'I shall stop him.'

'You are young,' says Glaivas, 'can you succeed where I, a Ranger Lord, would fail?'

'I am Ninja,' you reply.

Glaivas starts. The Grandmaster of the Dawn sighs and says, 'Yes, I rename you Avenger, for if anyone can succeed, and you must for the sake of all mankind, it will be you.' With that he turns toward the Temple and prayer.

The city of Doomover lies on the western coast of the Manmarch, and Glaivas gifts you a map which shows the many cities and strange lands which stretch north to the snow wastes.
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You spend the rest of the day preparing, lacing the iron sleeves to your dark hued costume and gathering together the tools of the Ninja, before spending some hours in quiet meditation. You board Glaivas' ship in time and sail on the evening tide. You must find Yaemon and kill him before he reaches the Pillars of Change or all will be lost.
Avenger, Grandmaster of the Five Winds
Inner Force: 5
Endurance: 20
Shuriken: *****
Ninja Tools: Ninja Costume, Breathing Tube, Iron Sleeves, Garotte, Flash Powder, Flint & Tinder, Spiderfish, Blood of Nil.
Special Items: Opal Ring.
The ship which Glaivas has chartered, the 'Aquamarin,' has a hundred oars and two masts. The winds are kind to you as you scud across the azure plain. The sea is so calm that after two weeks without the tang of salt spray on your lips you forget that it is composed of water at all. The oarsmen row for ten hours a day, but they are free men, not chained to their oars. Two bear the scars of a pirate's persuader; captured by buccaneers, they are of the lucky few who have lived to see the sky again. All of them have the heavy upper body of the oarsman, some who turned to the sea for their livelihood too young are squat and mis-shapen, moulded by life at the oar into grotesque travesties of the mountain dwarves.

The Land of Plenty passes to the south and you are in sight of the Isle of the Magical Goddess when the lookout cries a warning. The helmsman steers a new course and the drum-beat quickens as the oarsmen redouble their efforts. The ship that is approaching is long and low, painted green and red and flying a red pennant at the top of its mast. Glaivas, standing next to you at the rail, says 'That ship is from Port o' Reavers, we'll never outrun it.' So saying, he draws his sword.

The oarsmen strain, sweating with effort, but they cannot match the pace of the slaves on the Reavers' ship, galvanized into a frenzied spurt by the barbed whips of their overseers. At last the captain gives the order 'prepare to repel boarders' and you ready yourself for combat. The pirate ship carries a spiked ram, but they are obviously trying to take the Aquamarin as a prize for they grapple and come alongside. The Reavers carry scimitars and chain nets and are led in their rush by a nine-foot monster whose body is covered in knobbles of mis-grown bone, an Ogre with a large spiked hammer.
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The Aquamarin's crew look no match for the battle-scarred buccaneers.

• Leap into the rigging and hurl a Shuriken at the Ogre?
• Attack the Ogre as it comes aboard, flattening a section of the Aquamarin's rail?
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Sat Jul 20, 2013 1:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Shuriken him - we've got five, even if it falls in with the ogre it's not too bad.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Your Shuriken glints in the sun as it hurtles towards its mark in the Ogre's chest. As you leap down from the rigging a volley of arrows is let loose from the stern castle of the reaver's ship. The Ogre grunts with pain as the Shuriken lodges in its chest. Throw one die and take the score from the huge beast's Endurance of 16. (It's a 4.) One of the pirate's arrows is coming at you.

Before you reach the deck, an arrow pierces you thigh and you stumble. You pull the barbed arrow from your flesh but the muscle is badly torn. Lose 4 Endurance and subtract one from your Kick Modifier. The Ogre, enraged, raises its spiked hammer to smash you.
Avenger, Grandmaster of the Five Winds
Modifiers: Kick -1
Inner Force: 5
Endurance: 16/20
Shuriken: ****
Ninja Tools: Ninja Costume, Breathing Tube, Iron Sleeves, Garotte, Flash Powder, Flint & Tinder, Spiderfish, Blood of Nil.
Special Items: Opal Ring.
• Try the Winged Horse Kick?
• Attempt the Iron Fist Punch?
• Slide across the deck and use the Dragon's Tail throw?
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Sat Jul 20, 2013 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

The Ogre is big and stupid, so the Dragon's Tail Throw should take care of him.
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Post by MisterDee »

The Ogre's probably too big to throw, so let's punch his testicles off instead.
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Post by Ancient History »

We're at a disadvantage to kick. I say we go with "the bigger they are, the harder they'll fall" and try the throw. We'll either succeed gloriously or look like an idiot in pajamas.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

To the surprise of the dull-witted Ogre, you crouch to the deck and try to sweep its legs from under it. However, its legs are stocky and powerful, and it is huge and strong.

OGRE
Defense against throw: 8
Endurance: 16 12
Damage: 2 dice

If you succeed, you may use a kick or punch adding 2 to your kick or punch modifier for this attack only. If you have failed to bring the Ogre crashing to the deck it tries to drive through you with its hammer. Your defence against the falling hammer is 7 as you try to roll backwards into a handstand and then flip onto your feet. You have no time to block the heavy blow.

(The throw fails! The Ogre's counterattack fails as well.)
(The throw is a poor tactic. What shall we try instead?)

• Kick?
• Punch?
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Post by fectin »

Punch him!
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Post by Dean »

punch both his nuts
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Punch.
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